To Hell and Back
by AnimeFreak134
Summary: Ichigo and Rukia are at a small weding party in the small town of Lublin, Poland in the year 1942. Everyone was having a fabulous time, when out of nowhere, Nazi soldiers come and take everyone away! Will they make it out alive? -IchiRuki - I suck at Summaries!
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Bleach or anything involving Bleach.**

**Okay just wanted to let EVRYONE know that I am NOT trying to offend the Jewish people or people from Germany! I thought that this would make for a good story! I do not mean to offend anyone in any way, so if you find this offensive please just don't read it! Thanks and enjoy!**

**I just wanted to let you guys know that I totally SUCK at Intros to stories..Im more of the middle part of the story writing author...if ya know wut I mean...**

**Schnell- _to hurry or to go_**_

* * *

Life was entirely perfect for the happiest couple in the small town of Lublin. It was 1942, and Ichigo and Rukia were a very joyful couple. Although, that all changed when something horrible happened._

"Ichigo, come on! We're going to be late!" Rukia called down from the top of the hill.

"Well I WOULD if someone would help me carry all of this junk!" Ichigo shouted right back at her.

"Well excuse me for being a lady. A small one at that." She scoffed as she turned and continued on down the dirt road. Ichigo and Rukia were on their way over to their friends' house for a wedding party. Ichigo was currently carrying a fairly large gift. He didn't know _exactly what _was inside, because Rukia had done the wrapping, and he didn't intend to find out any time soon. It was just so _damn _heavy. He was also carrying his and Rukia's luggage. They were only staying one night,_ 'Why the hell did she have to pack so much?' _

"Oi, strawberry! Hurry it up! The house is just up the hill!" Rukia was a bit surprised when she turned around to see that Ichigo had jogged up the hill and was right behind her.

They both entered the house. "Ichigo-kun! Rukia-san! Thank you so much for coming! I'll take your luggage!" exclaimed the very energetic Momo Hinamori, bride to be. "Where's Toushiro?" asked Rukia. "Oh, Shiro-chan is in the kitchen talking to Renji-kun and Hisagi-san."

"Well, if you don't mind I think I want to go talk to Rangiku-san and Unohana-san, I haven't seen them in ages." Momo said as she dragged Rukia with her. Ichigo just laughed to himself as he found Toushiro Hitsuguya and Renji Abari talking in the kitchen.

_The party went on for a few hours. Everyone was having such a wonderful time. After they were done talking to their friends, Rukia and Ichigo stayed close the rest of the time. For some reason, they had a strange feeling that something bad was going to happen. _

"Hey Rukia," Ichigo said, "Do you, I don't know, feel something in the air? Like something bad is about to happen?"

"Sadly, yes, I do. And it's actually kinda scaring me." She replied. During the start of the conversation the couple headed to the backyard of the house. Ichigo wrapped his arms around Rukia from behind. "Don't worry; I won't let anything happen to you." Rukia turned around in his arms and stood on the tips of her toes and let her lips meet Ichigo's.

They were enjoying the moment. Total bliss as they kissed in the light of the moon and the stars. That was until a loud crash was heard from inside the house. "What was that?" Rukia asked. "I don't know…" Ichigo replied. They pulled away from each other, holding hands, and walked in through the back door. The sight they saw froze them in their tracks. Ten soldiers stood at the entrance of the small home. Not just any soldiers, but Nazi soldiers. Rukia immediately started to shake in fear. Ichigo pulled her slightly behind him to protect her from what the soldiers could possibly do.

"We have come here for one reason. We do not wish to harm anyone. Just come with us. We are simply resettling you." Said a very tall and scary looking man. He was very muscular, even with his bulky uniform on, and he had a psychotic look on his face. He had an eye patch on his right eye and a large scar across his left. His hair was black and in many spikes. Small protests were coming from the group of people that were invited to the wedding party.

"If you decide not to come we will make you by force. Now gather what you can in the next five minutes and come outside to our trucks and climb in the back. If you try to run you _will _be shot." Rukia was shaking uncontrollably now. She had had many Jewish friends who were taken by these soldiers, and hadn't come back. Horrible rumors had gone around Poland and made their way into small towns such as Lublin. Rukia and Ichigo both knew what was going to happen. These men, these evil monsters, were not here to '_resettle'_ them but to do far worse. Ichigo wrapped his arms around Rukia's small form. She began crying, and all Ichigo could do was walk out the door and get into the back of the truck.

* * *

"Rukia, Rukia! Look at me, Rukia! We're going to be fine! Please just calm down!" Ichigo exclaimed towards Rukia who had gone into shock and was sobbing uncontrollably. They had been sitting in the back of the Nazi truck for several hours and Rukia was slowly falling apart. She _knew _what was coming. She had _heard _from somebody that they knew another person who escaped one of the _'resettlements', _if you could even call it that_. _

Rukia looked up at Ichigo. He was more worried about her than himself. She wiped the tears away from her eyes. She didn't want to show such weakness, but it was hard to not cry when you know what might happen to you and your loved one. She looked deep into his eyes. She looked right into his soul through his beautiful amber eyes. She moved into his lap and rested her head on his chest, wrapping her arms around his torso. Ichigo, in turn, wrapped his arms around her small structure, and kissed the top of her head.

_**~THREE HOURS LATER~**_

Ichigo had kept Rukia in the safety of his arms as she slept silently. They had been on the back of the truck all night. He looked around at all the other people on the truck bed. Renji, Momo, Toushiro, Rangiku, Unohana, and several others he couldn't quite see. It was still fairly dark out.

Ichigo glanced at the scenery as they went by. No signs of civilization _anywhere._ All of a sudden, the truck came to a stop. He looked ahead to that the other trucks were stopped as well. Many more people from Lublin were piled into those trucks as well.

In front of all the trucks was a barbed wire fence and gate that lead to what looked like a compound with many barracks. The ground was devoid of any plant life; only dirt. The gate opened allowing the trucks to enter.

Several people on the trucks started to get restless. They wanted to leave. Some of them must have heard about events such as this happening.

"Alright you _Jews," _said the same eye patched soldier from before, "get out of the back of the trucks. Schnell!" Everyone got out of the trucks as fast as they could, not wanting to be shot or harmed in any way. Ichigo tried to wake Rukia, but she was fast asleep.

_'Damnit! Come one Rukia! Wake up!' _Ichigo thought to himself as Rukia finally woke up. He set her down on her feet as they jumped off the truck. "Get down on the ground. Come on! Down! Schnell!" Several people, including Ichigo and Rukia, hesitated. The guard walked over to where they were standing. "I thought I told you to get down!" The soldier yelled, looking Rukia dead in the eyes. Then, out of the blue, the Nazi slapped her across the face. Rukia screeched and started to whimper.

It happened so suddenly, that even Ichigo hadn't quite understood what happened. Ichigo was now seriously pissed off. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he yelled at the Nazi as he pushed Rukia's shaking form behind him. Ichigo then lashed out and punched the man straight in the face. A sickening crack was heard. "How dare you, you _Jew!" _the soldier screamed as heheld his nose to stop the bleeding. It was probably broken. Ichigo had already turned back to Rukia to make sure she was okay. Two soldiers had come to the aid of the first and were aiming their gun right at Ichigo, ready to shoot if anything went wrong again.

The first soldier, the one with the spiky black hair and eye patch, whispered something in the ears of both the soldiers that had come to his aid. One of them raised their gun and shot. The sound of the gun rang out. Several women screamed. Rukia being one of them, her eyes wide and filled with tears. _They shot Ichigo!_

"Agh!" Ichigo yelled, gripping his now bleeding shoulder. "Monsters!" Rukia screamed.

"This is what happens to those who don't listen when you are told to do things. Now, get down on the ground. All of you!" The Nazi yelled. This time everyone went down.

Everyone was on the ground. Ichigo's arm bleeding profusely, he still managed not to be writhing in pain. Although, the scowl on his face seemed much more like one of pain instead of his usual 'Ichigo' stare. The Nazis went around ripping jewelry and anything the people had on them besides their clothing. When the soldiers came over to where Ichigo and Rukia were laying they ripped off the necklace Rukia was wearing without a pause. A gasp of pain escaped her lips. The one soldier walked besides Ichigo and gave him a hard kick in the ribs. He started to wheeze and cough. Rukia felt useless; she couldn't do anything! She tried to hold in the tears she was about to shed. _I shouldn't show my weaknesses. I am Kurosaki Rukia, and I am strong! I swear from this day on I will not cry unless it is for something joyful! _

Ichigo turned his head towards Rukia. Their eyes met. This was going to be one hell of a life experience. The soldiers told everyone to get up. Many men had bruises forming on them and many women had red marks around their necks from the necklaces being torn from them. Rukia winced when she heard a bloodcurdling scream from one of the women. A Nazi had just ripped out that poor woman's earrings! The woman grabbed her bleeding ears as she screamed in pain. The Nazis, being annoyed, decided to…exterminate the woman. Nobody screamed, just turned away and let the Nazi beasts lead them into one of the many barracks.

"You will spend the night here. We shall continue on tomorrow morning." With that, the soldiers left, all except for two who guarded the door from outside. The beds, or should I say shelves, were extremely narrow. No blankets or pillows just a narrow shelf covered in straw.

His arm still bleeding, Ichigo ripped the sleeve off his shirt and tied it tightly around his arm. He was starting to feel light-headed. Rukia was trying to hold herself together. Ichigo had never seen her so scared. The usual Rukia is much stronger. _I think she finally snapped when I was shot. _Rukia took a step closer to Ichigo; not feeling comfortable with her surroundings, Rukia needed the comfort of her husband.

Ichigo grabbed Rukia's small hand and lead her to one of shelves. He laid down and moved as far over as he could before he hit the wall. Rukia climbed in after him not caring about how small it was. She only wanted to go to sleep in Ichigo's strong and protecting arms. He pulled her against him and looked deep into her violet orbs. Both of their eyes full of sadness and despair. They shared a light kiss before they fell asleep in each other's arms, finally letting the peacefulness of sleep overtake the hell of the day's events. What was happening to them seemed like they were plunging into hell itself, and they weren't sure if they could make it back alive.

* * *

**A/N: (I added a paragraph in there...I realized that I forgot to mention how Ichigo tried to stop the bleeding hole in his arm...lol)So? How was it? Good? SHould I make another chappy? Should I print it out and throw it in the paper shredder? SHould I delete it? I don't know! You tell me please Review! Oh, and the more reviews I get the faster I'll update! Thanks for reading! ~AF134**

**P.S.- I didn't feel like waiting for peole to reply to my poll, so instead I just went and posted the story. If you want me to _continue _the story, than I suggest you vote in the poll on my profile! Thanks again!**


	2. Chapter 1: Realization and Relief

**DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own anything relating to Bleach. Although I DO own this computer, my Gir shirt, this Ichigo poster, this Rukia chibi pin, and this bag of gummy bears ;P**

**I would like to mention that I do not mean to offen any race or religion with this story. As a matter of fact and 21% German. So if anything I'm slightly offending myself. (lol)**

**I go the idead for this story from "The Devil's Arithmetic" and would like to say that the names of the towns of "Lublin" and "Viosk" were from that book and that "Krakow" is an actual town in Poland. (Well Lublin is too but I'm using a DIF Lublin) So PLEASE enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry if it seems rushed cause I think I kinda suck at writing.**

* * *

Rukia woke up very early in the morning. Back stiff, and head sore. Rukia tried to move but Ichigo's arms were wrapped around her. While she was wiggling around trying to get up, she felt something sticky that made her shirt stick to her body. She looked down at herself. Ichigo's wound had been bleeding overnight and the blood had soaked through the make-shift bandage. Blood had gotten onto part of Rukia's shirt. Thankfully, the bleeding _had _stopped and Ichigo was still breathing. A sudden thought rushed into her mind. Eyes widening with realization she started to shake Ichigo awake to ask him the dreadful question.

_**~ICHIGO~**_

_Rukia? Rukia? RUKIA! Rukia where are you? "Hahahahaha." Came evil laughter from somewhere deep in the mist that surrounded Ichigo."W-Who's there?" he stuttered. The mist started to clear up in the spot Ichigo was standing. He walked forward, again being assaulted by evil laughter. It was getting closer. Ichigo noticed a trail of some substance leading him closer to the laughter. There was a large clearing in the mist up ahead. Ichigo ran, the substance on the ground getting thicker as he came closer. Ichigo stopped dead in his tracks as he saw the scene before him. Rukia's unmoving body lay on the ground. Dozens of gashes all over her pale skin just oozing blood. And hovering over her body was the same Nazi soldier from before. The eye-patched, spiky haired bastard. He was holding a large knife covered in Rukia's blood laughing. "You're next." He said as he flung the knife at Ichigo. He screamed as it hurdled towards him hitting him dead on._

Ichigo awoke with a large gasp. "Ichigo, are you okay?" Rukia asked concerned. "You were moaning in your sleep." Ichigo was relieved to see that Rukia was alive and as well as she could be in this horrid place. His eyes looked over her face. Rukia's eyes were red and puffy and she looked horrible. "Rukia, what's wrong?" He asked worried. She burst into tears. "Y-Yorokobi, s-she's n-not with us. W-wh-where is s-sh-she? W-will she b-b-be okay?" Rukia barely got the sentence out of her mouth. Ichigo's eyes were wide as saucers that were now also filling up with water. They had forgotten all about Yoro. _How could we forget our own child? _Ichigo thought bewildered and shedding tears as well.

Rukia was sobbing into Ichigo's bloodied shirt and he was pulling her as close to him as he could. They had left their daughter to the care of Rukia's brother, Byakuya, in the town next to Lublin. _Was she okay? Did they take her to one of these horrid places? Was she in one of the trucks that carried us here last night? Is she here with Byakuya? _The thoughts were flooding both of their minds. _There were a lot of trucks coming here last night. _

Sounds of movement and whispering were heard throughout the small barracks full of shelves. People were waking up and starting to sob and moan in fear as well as despair.

"Alright you _Jews, _time to get up. We are heading out." Said a soldier who was guarding the door.

Rukia rolled off the shelf, landing on her feet. Ichigo followed after reluctantly. His usual scowl was harder as he tried to brace himself for the pain from his wound. Standing up holding his shoulder, Ichigo started towards the door. The Nazis were starting to herd them towards the trucks waiting outside. Rukia stayed close to his side; his good arm draped over her shoulders.

"We are in a fairly good mood today, so we shall tell you _where_ we have taken all of you from and where you shall be going." Said a creepy looking soldier with yellow teeth and a strange hat. It was white instead of green and it was pointing sideways. His hair was such a deep black it almost looked blue. His smile was psychotic. "We have taken all of you from _several _places; Lublin, Viosk, and Krakow. You are headed towards a _lovely _place called Auschwitz." His laughter was evil as he walked away and told one of the guards to do something.

Ichigo's and Rukia's eyes immediately started to search the crowd. Viosk was the town they had left Yoro in! Before they could find her or Byakuya, they were being shoved into the back of another truck. They were headed towards Auschwitz; soon to be known as Hell on Earth.

* * *

Time on the truck was spent asking people if they had seen Yoro or Byakuya. The people on their truck had not. They all were either from Lublin or Krakow, not Viosk. Their eyes wandered over towards the trucks in front and back of them hoping to find their child. Efforts were proven fruitless as they reached their destination. Small and dusty dirt trails lead to cattle cars a few yards away. People were shoving their way off as the German soldiers pointed guns at them and said "Schnell." Rukia thought she saw someone carrying an orange haired child and immediately tried to drag Ichigo in the direction that she had seen them. Ichigo having seen the child as well did not resist her efforts to try and drag him.

The woman was cradling the orange haired baby. She just then put the baby's head up to her shoulder so she could hold her better. Rukia looked straight at the baby's eyes that were just now opening. A perfect shade of violet. It was Yoro.

"YORO!" She shouted through all the hustle and bustle of the crowd. Rukia raced over towards the woman. "Please! That's my child! Please give her to me!"She said through her tears of joy of finding her baby and sorrow for what the child was going to have to go through. The woman was a bit bewildered but handed the child over to her mother.

Ichigo had lost Rukia in the crowd, but eventually she found him. He was very hard to miss with his height of 6'2" and his orange hair. "Ichi! Ichigo! I found her! I found Yorokobi!" she shouted as she rushed into his arms. They had a small moment of happiness before they were slammed into the hot and cramped cattle car. There were dozens of people in this car, but compared to the stories of some cars that were stuffed so full that you couldn't sit down this wasn't nearly as bad. Everyone was able to sit down. The train started down the rickety tracks.

* * *

Yoro was making cooing sounds as she finally got to see her mother and father again. Her parents looked down at her with equal happiness. Rukia sat next to Ichigo untying his make-shift bandage to see if she could clean it off with the cloth she ripped off her dress. Yoro was in Ichigo's lap playing with her adorably tiny toes. He would wince every once and awhile but he seemed fine even though his shoulder was still very raw.

Tying another piece of cloth around the bullet hole, Rukia picked up Yoro and moved herself into Ichigo's lap. All they wanted and needed was each other. Ichigo's safe arms wrapped themselves around the petite Rukia; who in turn had her arms surrounding the most important thing in both hers and Ichigo's life.

"I don't know if I should be happy or fearful that we found Yoro here." Rukia whispered so that only Ichigo could hear. Her voice seemed dry and cracked. They were getting extremely thirsty in the stuffy boxcar. Several people were either sleeping or slouched in the heat trying to fan themselves. A few men even took their shirts off to try and cool off.

"I don't know either. I mean I'm definitely happy that alive and well at the moment, but I don't think I can be truly happy about finding her until we get out of this mess." Ichigo whispered a response to his tiny wife. Rukia hugged the now sleeping Yorokobi to her small chest. Ichigo tightened his grip around Rukia as they both fell asleep as well; relishing in the rare moment on peace and love.

* * *

**A/N: UGH! It's soo short! =( I hope you guys are okaii with it. I have a really bad case of writers block so i tried to squeeze some story out into writing this. Oh well, I tried! And remember R&R! ~AF134**

_**(I took down the poll I had up for this story because NOBODY was responding to it.)**_


	3. Chapter 2: Welcome to Hell

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Bleach. Although I DO own this computer, the shirt I am currently wearing this half eaten doughnut, the other eaten half of the doughnut now digesting in my stomach, and the frogs staring at me from their tank. One just stuck its tongue out at me...**

**Well anyway I'm sorry it's taken me SOOO long to update but between all of my tests and the end of Science Fair and this essay I had do I BARELY had enough to type this up! I actually took the time to WRITE out the first 1,468 words. The other half I just typed!**

* * *

"Waaaaaah! Waah!" was the sound Rukia awoke to. Her little baby squirming in her arms and crying.

"Shh! Shh! Yoro, its okay." Rukia cooed. The baby calmed down while Rukia rocked her back and forth in her arms. Although, the baby was still a bit upset.

Ichigo - being awoken by his daughter's cries and his wife's movements - rubbed Yoro's tears away with his thumb. "Yoro, you're fine baby girl. No need to cry." Yoro's little violet orbs stared into her father's amber eyes. Ichigo moved a bit to get a better look at his midget wife's face. "Do you think she's…uh…hungry?"He asked. "Maybe." Rukia replied.

"I can turn us around to face the wall to give you some privacy when you're feeding Yorokobi. No one can see you then." Rukia nodded in response as Ichigo turned them all around towards the wall of the now cool boxcar. Since it was night, it was freezing. And since there were some many people in the boxcar, the body heat made the cramped space take on a cool air instead of a freezing one.

Yorokobi was only three months old, so breast feeding was the only option. Although, while Yoro was gaining liquid and nutrients, Rukia was losing them both. Hopefully they could get off the train soon; food and water were being craved and needed by all onboard the train.

When their daughter finished eating, Ichigo and Rukia returned to their original position. Ichigo's back, neck, and legs were extremely stiff and sore from sitting on the hard wooden floor of the boxcar. On the other hand, Rukia was safe and comfy in her Strawberry's strong and protective arms. Yoro was snuggled in Rukia's arms and Ichigo's chest. Rukia rested her head on Ichigo's shoulder as the train headed down the rickety rails.

"Ichigo," Rukia started, "how is your wound?" She was looking at Ichigo's other shoulder – the makeshift bandage having a dark red splotch stained into it.

"It's okay, I guess. I mean it doesn't hurt, and since the bullet went clean through, I don't need surgery to remove it. As long as it doesn't get infected too badly, I should be fine."

"So, it _really _doesn't hurt?"

"Nope not at all."

Rukia poked the middle of the red splotch on the bandage – Ichigo winced.

"Okay it throbs quite a bit and it stings if I move too much."

"That's what I thought you stubborn idiot." Rukia smirked in victory – a yawn made its way up and out of her mouth.

"C'mon Rukia, get some sleep. You're probably going to need it." Ichigo whispered before, he too, yawned.

"You too, Strawberry." She said snuggling into said Strawberry's chest.

"Alright ya midget. Love you." Ichigo kissed the top of his wife's black hair.

"Love you…too…" Rukia said as she fell asleep. Ichigo soon followed her into the realm of dreams.

* * *

"Alright _Jews_, get up and out! Schnell!" came the horrid voice from the opening of the boxcar. It smelled of human waste and was deathly hot inside.

Ichigo's eyelids fluttered open as he took in his surroundings. The Nazi soldiers were going around, kicking or hitting people to get up. He stood with Rukia still in his arms, and was herded out with everyone else toward some trucks.

'_Great,'_ thought Ichigo, '_even more trucks.'_

* * *

Sometime later, Ichigo jostled Rukia awake. They had reached their destination – it looked like the first place they were sent to stay for the night.

Rukia looked around groggily. Dozens of cinder-block barracks and yards and yards of barren land. Just dirt and barracks – guarded by Nazis and surrounded by barbed wire fences. Her eyes widened – as well as Ichigo's – in horror at the sight before them now. Hundreds of people in rags and were literally skin and bones were coming out of the barracks. This was no "resettlement", this was Hell. And they were headed inside along with dozens of others from the train ride.

Everyone was forced off the back of the truck and pushed into the place no known to every Jew as Hell.

"Separate! Men here; women and children 10 and under there! Schnell! Why aren't you moving? I said, SEPARATE!" Bellowed a large Nazi.

Soldiers had to raise their guns to get people to separate from men from the women and children. Wails, cries, screams, and sayings of goodbye were passed between separating groups.

"Rukia, go. Take Yorokobi and go with the woman and children." Large violet and tear-filled eyes gazed into blood-shot and glassy amber ones. Rukia could see in his eyes how hard it was for him to say those words.

"No."

"Rukia, you have to! They'll hurt you, or Yoro!"

"I won't leave you!"

"I want to stay with too Rukia, but I don't want either of you to be harmed." His eyes were beginning to water.

'_He never cries. This must be so hard for him. I feel the same way. I only wish we didn't have to separate in this horrid place.' _Rukia's face saddened even more. "Fine," she said with tears streaming down her face.

"I love you."

"I love you too."

They kissed passionately – tears flowing from both their eyes.

"I love you too, my little Yoro." Ichigo said taking her from Rukia's hold. He kissed her forehead, held her close, and then returned her to Rukia's grasp. Yoro looked around – she looked confused and the expression on her face was hysterical. Rukia chuckled a bit through her tears. Ichigo hugged them tightly and then let go. The soldiers were coming towards them. He turned towards the men's barracks. "See you when this is over," he said looking back with his teary amber eyes. "Yes." The one worded response from Rukia was filled with emotion as she, and the other women and children, were herded away.

Rukia walked away holding her baby tight – they were headed towards a dilapidated barrack. The closer they got, the stronger the horrid smell became – her mind was blank as well as her expression. As bad as the smell was for everyone else, it didn't seem to register in Rukia's mind.

They were all shoved inside the already cramped barracks. It looked exactly like the barracks she and Ichigo had to sleep in the night before. Except there were deep red stains everywhere - God only knew what, or who, they were from. Dozens of other women and children were there as well. All of the women were bone thin, cheeks gaunt. The children were a bit better off. They were probably getting extra food from their mothers.

A hand grabbed Rukia's shoulder. She jumped, but turned around. "Momo!" she squeaked out.

"Rukia, thank _God _you're okay! I hadn't seen you; I thought you were somehow sent elsewhere. Oh my! How did you manage to find her?" Momo blurted out and then gestured towards Yoro.

"I'm not sure. I can't exactly call it luck now can I?"

"I have to agree with you there. So, was your brother with her before you found her?"

"N-no…he wasn't I have no idea where he is. I'm not even sure if he's still alive."

"Oh I'm sorry Rukia! I'm assuming someone else had her than?" Rukia nodded.

"Is Ichigo okay?"

"Besides h-having t-to leave, his mood was fine. Although, o-one of th-the soldiers sh-shot h-his sh-shoulder," Rukia said through the lump in her throat and the tears threatening to fall. She held them in; she didn't want to show how weak she was.

Momo's eyes went wide – growing a bit wider and then showing no emotion at all at Rukia's next question.

"Is Toushiro-kun still okay, I mean besides having to separate from you?"

Momo's face showed no emotion. "A soldier hit him with a gun and broke some of his fingers. Gave him a black eye too."

"Oh I'm sorry Momo! I had no idea!"

"It's alright; I mean Shiro-chan is probably better off than Ichigo at the moment."

"Yeah I guess." Rukia looked around the barracks. "Is that Rangiku?" Rukia squinted her eyes to make sure.

"I-I think so."

"Hey!" Yelled the busty young woman. "Momo-san, Rukia-san! Over here! It's the only shelf left." The two short women made their way through the mass of boney people. Rangiku was sitting on the shelf, a solemn look on her usually peppy face. Her husband, Hisagi, was over with the men. She had no other family in the camp so for her to find two people she could call friend was pure joy. She informed Rukia and Momo that their friend, Unohana, had been sent off somewhere else to heal soldiers from the war; this was only allowed because she wasn't Jewish – she was only friends with them. Rangiku, Momo, and Rukia told each other about all that had happened to them on their way to the place they were now.

"Goodnight Momo-san! Goodnight Rukia-san! Goodnight and sweet dreams lil Yoro!"

"'Night Rangiku-san!" Rukia and Momo said in unison. They fell asleep on the cramped shelves, dreaming about their loved ones and fearing what would come the following day.

* * *

Ichigo was shoved inside the putrid smelling barracks along with the other men. He was showing no emotion – his famous scowl set on his face. He didn't want to show any weakness in front of the other men. He was too stubborn for that.

He glanced around the cramped space, looking for someone he knew. His eyes landed on the familiar tattooed faces of Renji Abarai and Hisagi Shuuhei. Ichigo made his way through the bone thin men towards his friends. "Renji! Hisagi!" The two glanced in Ichigo's direction.

"What the hell? Ichigo is that you?" Renji practically screamed.

"Yeah, it's me."

"Jeez, what the fuck happened to your arm?" Hisagi asked.

Ichigo's expression became grim at the memory. "Some bastard Nazi slapped Rukia so I punched him. The guards wanted to "show us a lesson" and he shot me. I'm just glad Rukia is okay. Same with Yoro."

"Yoro? You mean Yorokobi? As in… your daughter Yoro?" They asked surprised.

"Yeah. We found her with some woman, probably from Viosk where Byakuya lives. He wasn't there with her though. Rukia seemed a bit worried at the time, but she hasn't made a big deal about it. I just hope she's fine now."

Hisagi gave him a sympathetic look. He knew what he was going through. His wife, Rangiku, was in the same place Rukia was. Renji almost looked kind of left out of the worry party going on in front of him.

"So…uh…anyone see anybody else we know?"

"From what I've seen, Ichigo, there hasn't been anyone I know. I mean I did see Toushiro but that was before we even got near the trains. He was in the same truck as me and Rangiku. We lost him at the train stop though."

"How about you Renji?"

"I saw that one chick from the party there. Oh Damnit…what was her name? Oh yeah that Arisawa girl."

"Tatsuki? Where'd you see her last?"

"Um…I was sitting kind of close to her on the train, but I couldn't find her in the crowd when we got here so I'm not sure where she is now. Some other big guy was there. Sado was his name…I think."

"He prefers Chad, Renji."

"How the fuck am I supposed to know that? I mean I barely even know what he looks like let alone what the hell his name is! Cut me some slack Hisagi."

"C-could you please k-keep it down. W-we d-don't w-w-want the N-Nazis c-co-coming in h-her to m-make you b-b-e quiet." A brittle looking man said from the shelf next to the one they were sitting on.

"Oh...uh…sorry. We'll keep it down. Trust me; I don't want them in here either." The man looked at Ichigo's injured shoulder as Ichigo spoke. Ichigo turned back to his "friends" as Hisagi made a crack at Renji's face and hair.

"What do you _mean _by Amazon pineapple? At least I don't have a sex position tattooed on my face!"

Hisagi turned bright red. "SHUT IT! You and I BOTH know that's not what it means!" Renji couldn't stop guffawing at the color of his face.

"Would you two shut it? Do you _want _those bastards to come in here and _make _you shut up?" Ichigo whispered angrily.

"Uh…sorry Ichigo!" "Yeah sorry!" The two idiots immediately dove further back in the shelf and fought over who slept where.

Ichigo wasn't sure what was worse; being stuck in this place without his wife and daughter or the fact that he's going to be stuck with those two idiots. He sighed at the thought and decided to lie down while said Idiots bickered. Tomorrow is going to be one _hell _of a day.

* * *

**A/N: How was it? Huh? Huh? Was it good, awful, a sad excuse for a story that took forever to update even though it's a piece of crap? TELL MEE! I will send you an imaginary cookie if you review! (Or a gummy bear...whatever floats your boat! 3)**

**DRABBLE: Okaiis! I JUST finished watching the Darker Than Black series today and I must say it was AMAZING! I love how dramatic it is. I only wish the final episode of the STORY LINE was better. I liked how in the last episode ever that _ found out _ real _! (You'll have to find out by watching the series!) I am no OBSESSED with the second opening, "The Hero Without a Name" Look it up on Youtube and its by Kakusei Heroism! **

**Update mii story sooner now! Go on and review yuu lil flying piggies! ~AF134**


	4. Chapter 3: An Imperfect Reuinion

**Heyy! I FINALLY updated! I would like to apologize in advance for this chapters suck-i-ness! I have had writers block and my health is NOT very good right now. And by that I mean because I've been addicted to Fanfiction story reading and staying up till 1 AM every night and having to wake up at 6:15 AM for school has had a MAJOR effect on my body. I'm tired all the time and I forget things too mcuh. I was taking abit of a break from it and I caught up on my much needed sleep. (I slept for about 18 hours striaght for about 3 days) ENJOY!**

**DISCLAIMER: Dont own Ichi or his cute lil Ruki...but i DO own Yoro! MWAHAHAHAAAA! -I have no idea why i typed an evil laugh o.0**

* * *

"_Ichigo! Ichigo! ICHIGO!" Rukia was screaming as she was being dragged away by two large men through the large black area they were in._

_Ichigo rushed towards her, but the place he was in seemed to get longer, darker, and lonelier. He couldn't get any closer to his dear wife who was screaming – pure fear etched into her voice and face. "RUKIA!" Ichigo kept screaming trying to get to her._

_The two men stopped and threw Rukia to the ground. Ichigo had no idea what was just happening. She kept screaming at the top of her lungs as the men took something out from within their dark green jackets. Rukia's screams increased and she started to thrash around as they held her. _

_Ichigo hadn't gotten any closer – the unending darkness seemed to hold him in place."RUKIA!"_

_Rukia kept screaming for help. Then, all of a sudden, everything went silent. Ichigo stopped moving – his eyes were staring ahead of him in horror. The men walked away laughing maniacally. Lying on the ground was a bloody Rukia._

_Ichigo ran forward as fast as he could. He reached her body and started sobbing as he held her in his arms. Blood was everywhere – not even the darkness could hide it. Was this hell?_

Ichigo woke up in a cold sweat. He kept on having these nightmares. Except, every time it was different people and she died differently in different places each time.

Ichigo put his hand over his face and breathed heavily. _'Damnit! Why the hell do I keep having these dreams?' _

Everyone from the towns of Lublin and Viosk had been at the camps for about a week now and they were on a regular schedule: Wake up, roll call, work, the world's smallest amount of food possible for lunch, work, and then you were sent back to the barracks. No dinner – just a pathetic excuse of a lunch. The lunch was potato soup – you were lucky if you found a potato or onion in it. And then, if you are very lucky, they gave out stale brown bread.

Every person was starting to show signs of malnutrition. Weakness, pale skin, gaunt cheeks, skinniness, the list goes on and on. Renji and Hisagi even showed signs of weakness and malnutrition. They wouldn't bicker or fight anymore, there was no emotion on their faces, and they couldn't seem to look anywhere besides the ground. Renji was far better off than Hisagi for he didn't have a special loved one as Hisagi did in the women's side of the camp. Renji only had friends. Although, both men felt great pity towards the orange haired man they both called friend. He had his wife _and _only child in this place. He worried about them constantly and he barely ate the food that was given to him. He hadn't seen nor heard Rukia or Yoro for nearly a week now. Who knows if they're dead or alive – that was his biggest fear.

* * *

Rukia held her daughter in her arms, shielding her ears from the screams of the woman who was being beaten. This happened every day now. The soldiers would come in and randomly beat a poor woman. Yesterday, they even started to beat a small child – a woman had stepped in and tried to stop them. The guards stopped beating the child and dragged said woman outside before there was a loud gunshot. Everyone had gone silent.

The guards walked towards the exit and the women started to relax a bit. Their only job was to clean the barracks of the Jewish people and the barracks of the Nazi soldiers – when needed- and to clean the kitchen. Sometimes they were told to go out and tend to the sad looking potato crop sitting in the mud outside. Today, it was another barracks turn to do that.

A woman squeezed past Rukia's right arm to get somewhere. Rukia winced. Her arm was very sore. The Nazis had given each woman tattoos using very pointy needles and dark blue ink.

"_Alright Jews, line up!" Everyone had cooperated so as not to be harmed. They move forward; three at a time. They were each receiving a number tattoo in dark blue ink. _

_It was now Rukia's turn and the man giving tattoos grabbed her arm roughly and started inscribing the numbers and letters onto her arm. 'JW19621.' It had hurt like a bitch. Rukia was whimpering the entire time. Then the man stopped, grabbed Yorokobi's little arm, and started to tattoo the numbers and letters on her arm too. Rukia tried to stop the man but he simply slapped her across the face and went back to marring the perfect skin of her daughter. Yoro wouldn't stop crying the entire time – Rukia had tried to calm her down but it wasn't enough. Even Rukia started to cry. Her baby was suffering and she couldn't do anything to help. 'JC19622.'_

Rukia looked down at her sleeping baby. She looked so peaceful in her sleep. Rukia choked back a sob as she looked at Yoro's orange hair. It was just like her father's. Short, spiky, and so bright almost everyone thought it was dyed. Her eyes stung as she thought about Ichigo.

She hadn't seen him for nearly a week and she missed him dearly. She could tell Yoro missed him too because several times throughout the week Yoro has woken up and started to cry even though Rukia did all she could to make her stop.

Yoro was healthy – no signs of malnutrition present at all. Rukia on the other hand was starting to get very skinny and her face was paler than usual. She was losing more nutrition than anyone here. Yoro needed Rukia for food and she supplied her with it. Rukia was weak all the time and it was hard to stay awake during the day.

This atmosphere, the conditions, the Nazis, this place; they all _screamed _"Hell on Earth" and Rukia wasn't sure if she would make it out alive.

* * *

It was about mid day when Rukia heard the soldiers yelling outside at some people. She passed it off as nothing for the soldiers were _always _yelling at somebody. Well, that was until she heard a _man _yelp in pain. Rukia, being hopeful, looked out from inside the barracks. All she wanted was to see Ichigo – just once.

Ichigo wasn't there though. Instead she caught a glimpse of two guards beating some poor man and a man with stunningly white hair. _'Toushiro!'_

Rukia turned around and went through the barracks searching for Momo.

"Momo! Momo! Toushiro, I saw Toushiro! He's outside working in the potato field!" Momo's head jerked up from looking at the floor and rushed over to the door of the barracks. Rukia watched as Momo seemed to relax at the sight of her newlywed husband.

Toushiro's eyes wandered around his new surroundings until they landed on the door of a certain barracks. His eyes widened. '_Momo.' _He relaxed his form as well. Although he had to get back to work.

Momo just kept looking at him for the rest of the time he worked there. She seemed so happy just to see him.

How much Rukia wished she could see Ichigo. She sighed as Yoro's eyelids fluttered open. Her violet eyes met her mother's and she smiled. Her little hands balled into fists as she did a little baby stretch. Rukia giggled a bit. _'Ichigo does that when he wakes up too…' _

Rukia spent her day playing with Yorokobi and thinking about Ichigo. She had looked around the barracks at one point to see the once lively Rangiku staring into space with blood shot eyes. She probably was starving and missing her husband. _'Poor Ran.' _

* * *

The next day was started early. "Wake up you filth! We are heading over to another barracks for you to clean!" shouted a yellow haired man. His bang hung over the left side of his face and his dark colored eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at the Jewish women.

They were ushered out the door towards a far off barracks. The women had never been to this barracks before.

Soldiers shoved them inside and they immediately shut the door behind them. The women looked around. To the right were filthy rags and brown water as well as what was supposed to be a mop. The barracks itself was fairly clean. It didn't smell as bad as theirs had, although, there were more bloodstains in here. Several people were already in the barracks cleaning. Except, they weren't women. They were men. Only about seven of them though. Only one stood out to Rukia. This one had a mop of bright orange hair on his head.

Rukia grabbed a rag and rushed towards said orange aired man. "Ichigo!" she said loud enough for him to hear. Ichigo looked up in disbelief. "R-Rukia?"

He stood up from his cleaning position. Rukia rushed into his arms sobbing. Ichigo held her closely. "Thank _God _you're alright, Rukia!" Ichigo had so much emotion in his voice. His eyes started to sting ad tear up.

Rukia pulled away just enough to see his face. Little Yoro looked up from Rukia's arms and immediately put her little arms in the air and started cooing. Ichigo lifted his daughter out of Rukia's arms and planted a kiss on her forehead. He held her as close as he could – Rukia as well. "Ichigo I've missed you so much! So has Yoro! I was so worried!" Rukia sobbed as she snuggled into his chest. "I've missed you and Yoro too. I had no idea if you were okay."

Ichigo glimpsed at Rukia's and Yoro's arms. His face saddened. "So, they even marked you too? Even Yoro?" Rukia looked at her arm and nodded. "B-but she's just a baby! They can't do that to her!" Ichigo was filled with rage. _'How _dare _they do that to _his _Yoro and Rukia?'_

"Ichigo! Ichigo, calm down! It's okay now, I mean we're together now, right? We have to use this to our advantage. We might not have another chance like this." Sadness was evident in her voice as she gazed up with her swirling orbs of violet.

"Sorry…I've just been so worried." He pulled her and Yoro to him in a hug once again.

"It's okay Ichigo. It's not your fault that this happ-" Rukia was cut off by a coughing fit.

"Rukia are you okay?" It was then that Ichigo _really _took in the sight of his small wife. She was very thin and her usually creamy white skin was sickly pale. Her cheeks were slightly gaunt and her hair was limp yet it still held a bit of a shine. She looked sick and starved. Yoro seemed perfectly healthy.

"Ye-Yeah I'm fine." She took in Ichigo's appearance as well. His hair was abnormally spiky – except that _was _normal for him – and he seemed a bit skinnier. He had light bags under his eyes and his cheeks were a bit gaunt. She peered at his injured shoulder not sure what to expect of the wound underneath. "I-Ichigo? How is your shoulder?"

Ichigo turned his head away. Rukia took her free hand and placed it on top of the bloody make-shift bandage. He winced in pain at the feather light touch. Rukia was now very concerned. She had barely touched his shoulder yet he winced as if it had _really _hurt. Ichigo's eyebrows were knit tightly into his usual scowl as well as an expression of pain.

"May I look at it?" Ichigo turned his head towards hers. He gave her an uneasy look before he nodded – reluctantly. He didn't have the willpower to deny those beautiful eyes of hers.

"Can you hold her?" Rukia asked as she held up Yoro.

"Of course." He took Yoro from her and cradled her in his arms.

Rukia started to remove the cloth covering his wound. He kept wincing and even whimpering at the pain. At the point where she got to the part of the cloth that was actually touching the wound Rukia tried to peel it off. She couldn't do that without Ichigo jerking convulsively – the bandage had stuck to the probably infected and tender wound. "Brace yourself Ichi."

Ichigo tensed at her words. "Alright."

Rukia took a firm grasp on the cloth…and pulled it off fast.

"GAAAH!" Ichigo blurted out before he clamped his mouth shut.

"Ichigo! Are you okay? I'm so sorry!" She stopped talking as she inspected the wound. It did look infected. The tiny hole had gotten worse – it was now twice its original size and the skin around the wound looked horrid. Rukia didn't even want to attempt to look at the disgusting bandage.

"I-it's f-fine Rukia. It j-just hurts… a lot." He put his hand on the wound and winced. He then took the bottom of his shirt and ripped off a strip long enough to suffice as a bandage.

Rukia took the "cleaning supplies" the Nazis had given them and used the cleanest of the items to try and clean his wound. She had tears in her eyes. Every move she made – even when she was being extremely careful – caused him pain. She finally finished cleaning it and put the piece of cloth over it. She then sat down behind Ichigo and wrapped her arms around his waist holding him closely as he played with Yorokobi a bit.

Yoro was looking up into her father's face as she held her little hands up to his face. He smiled sadly at his little girl. He stuck out his finger and let her grasp it. Her precious little fingers wrapped around his one large finger. The scene was adorable and love filled, but didn't look at all "Happy" in any way. Both parents had sad looks on their faces and you could see the horrid conditions they were in.

Ichigo and Rukia looked around the barracks to see that her friends – Momo and Rangiku – were having their own reunion with their loved ones. The many other women and children just stood around making small attempts to clean some things.

"_Jews!_ I don't hear cleaning going on in there!" Everyone jumped up and got started on cleaning – not leaving their loved ones more than two feet away at all times.

* * *

After a few hours of cleaning, the barracks finally looked remotely clean. Most of the bloodstains were either gone or faded fairly well. It didn't smell as badly and it was less dusty.

They were all taking the rare rest to their advantage as they sat in their loved one's arms or just lounged around. Rukia had even fallen asleep as well as Yoro.

Ichigo was in his own little world as he stared at his beautiful midget. She looked so peaceful in her sleep even if she _did _look sick. Her cute button nose, her large eyes, her entire face was just gorgeous. He was so lucky to have met her. Their daughter, his little Yoro, was beautiful as well. Her adorable spiky orange hair that was just like his hair at the moment, her even tinier nose, her cute little fingers and toes, and also her wonderful and large violet eyes – just like Rukia's.

"Trash! Looks like you've got a pretty fucking lucky break! We can't move you to another barracks tonight so you're staying here!" Yelled the yellow haired guard from earlier that day.

Ichigo stood up with Rukia and Yoro within his arms and he walked over a sorry excuse of a bed and lied down. He lie on his side and fell asleep with his wife and child held protectively in his arms.

Tonight, luck was on their side. They had been able to spend a whole day with each other. '_Maybe things were starting to improve!_'

Except, Ichigo couldn't have been more wrong.

* * *

**A/N: And heres another really SUCKY chapter! I squeezed it out of my writer-blocked mind! Comment anyway please! (I would like if you would give me ideas for this story) ~AF134**


	5. Chapter 4: Death & Seperation

**Hey! Look who finally decided to show her face in this story aga-**

**HOLY SHIT!**

***flings body behind large rock***

***looks over at the now nonexistent ground where I had been standing***

**WAS THAT REALLY NECESSARY?**

**Readers: FUCKING HELLS YES!**

**O_O**

**Gomen…. .**

**I greatly apologize for my not updating this story! With my life (yes I actually have one :D) and things going on I just didn't get around to it. If you're reading my other story **_Living Hell Redemption _**you would already know about my three most amazing friends moving away to England and how complicated my school schedule is. Also I'm really into watching and drawing anime so that kind of sidetracks me….so again I apologize.**

**I would also like to apologize in advance for this chapter. It's short and quite honestly I think I could have done better. Thank you to all who are still reading this! I 3 you! ENJOY!**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own Ichigo, Rukia, Hisagi, Rangiku, or the guard that I described to look like Kira! I do own the sweet and adorable little Yorokobi! :D**

* * *

A sharp throbbing pain awoke the orange haired man. He opened his eyes and squinted at the morning light. He brought his hand up and touched the part of his head that was throbbing. He looked up and saw several soldiers walking around the barracks hitting other people awake.

Ichigo felt something shift in his arms, and as he looked down realization hit him. Rukia and Yorokobi had been able to stay here, with him, last night. A smile that looked more like a grimace made its way onto his face.

"Damnit! Get these people separated! What the hell were you thinking when you put both men _and _women in the same barracks for cleaning!" One guard shouted at the blonde haired guard from yesterday.

Gently shaking Rukia awake, Ichigo began to stand. Just when Rukia opened her eyes a guard came over and ripped her right from Ichigo's grasp. He was hit in the stomach before he could protest. Hunching over and trying to catch his breath, Rukia was squirming and still disoriented from sleep.

"I-Ichigo?" she gasped. "Let me go!" she shouted at the tall guard holding her tightly.

"Shut it!" he practically shrieked at her. Rukia's eyes widened in fear at the man's brutality evident in his words.

Across the barracks a loud shout stopped everyone. On the ground lay Hisagi writhing in pain and a sobbing Rangiku kneeling on the ground next to him. Crimson liquid pooled around his body. It flowed from a large gash across his stomach. The guard who had done this to him had a wretchedly vile smirk on his face.

"R-Ran… I lo-love you…" Hisagi caringly whispered to his beautiful wife. The strawberry blonde grabbed his hand and held it close to her chest – his hand clasped hard around hers trying to deviate away from the horrid pain in his abdomen. Eyes as wide as a deer caught in the headlights, Rangiku silently let the tears fall.

"No… No! NO! Sagi! No! You can't die! Please! You can't leave me!"

"I'm s-sorry." A weak smile permeated his features.

"I love you, Sagi! Please don't leave me!" She sobbed. Overflowing with grief and sadness, Rangiku fell onto her husband's chest. Her sobs could be heard throughout the barracks.

As she lay there, she felt Hisagi's grip loosen and his chest to stop rising she let out one final scream of sadness before practically turning into a puddle of grief.

Rukia, Ichigo, and any other person in the barracks that wasn't a guard just gaped at what had just occurred.

While the prisoners were distracted by the death of the man, they started trying to separate the men and women once again. This action knocked Rukia out of her stupor. Her violet pools glinted with moisture. Drops of liquid crystal fell from the gorgeous mauve pools. She barely resisted the guard pulling her away from her beloved Ichigo. That was until another guard made a move to take away the now awake and crying Yorokobi.

"Don't touch her!" She screeched jerking out of the one guard's hold and the other man's reach. She sprinted back over to wear Ichigo was and knelt down beside him. He had already recovered from the hit to his stomach but was still in enough of a bruising pain to stand.

The guards approached them and tried separating them once again. Now there were three of them. One grabbed Ichigo by the back of his neck and slammed him the ground as he also held his hands together to prevent a struggle. A second guard grabbed a screaming Rukia and prevented her from moving. The third and final guard came over and took Yorokobi from her arms.

"NO!" Rukia screeched. She tried to pull away from the guard with all her might but he was just too strong. "YOROKOBI! LET MY BABY GO!" She screamed over and over again, sobbing even harder.

"!" Ichigo shouted as he threw the guard off of him. He pumped his legs as fast as he could and sprinted to the guard that held his daughter.

Before the guard could do anything to Yorokobi, or even dodge, Ichigo had punched him right in the nose. A resounding crack carried throughout the barracks. Ichigo grabbed his little Yoro from the man's grasp before he could collapse. Her sobbing stopped, but then so did Rukia's. Ichigo turned around with frightened eyes. The guard stood holding Rukia with the sharpest looking dagger Ichigo had ever seen.

"Now listen you little bastard! You surrender right now or your little wifey will be at least _two heads _shorter than you!" Ichigo looked defeated. "I'll be taking you right to the _showers_ after this so I suggest you surrender now if you want at least this bitch to live with that little piece of shit in your arms. It'd be a waste to see a good worker such as this bitch to die." Rukia cried silently and sent begging stares at Ichigo.

_Run Ichigo! Run right now and take Yoro! I bet you can escape! RUN!_

Ichigo collapsed onto his knees. Rukia's eyes widened. The guard released her.

"NO!" Rukia rushed towards her husband.

"Rukia take Yorokobi and just listen to what they say. You'll be fine."

"No! I'm not just going to let them kill you."

"I'm sorry… and I love you. I love Yorokobi. I love every happy moment we've ever had. And I lo-"

The guard came in and grabbed Ichigo by his orange hair. "GAAAH!" he shouted.

Another guard held Rukia back when she tried to go after him. Tears fell in steady streams from Rukia's frightened eyes and Yorokobi's unknowing ones.

Screams, shouts, and yells were echoing in and around the barracks as similar actions were occurring. About 15 men and women were separated from the initial separated groups. They were under gunpoint and were also being held back by guards. Ichigo was one of those 15.

As Ichigo was led off Rukia was forced back towards her barracks, thoroughly traumatized and trying to calm the screaming child in her arms. It wasn't helping that she couldn't stop the sobs escaping from her lips but she was trying her best. When she had thought this place would be Hell, she had _**no **_idea it would have been this bad.

* * *

'_Rukia, I love you. I love Yorokobi. I love everything about you two. I'm sorry this is happening and hopefully you two will get out of this. Please, don't cry over me. I'm going to miss you. Just live on and be happy. Escape from this hell Camp and live a wonderful life. Have a loving and happy rest of your lives.'_

As Ichigo was led away these thoughts bounced around in his skull.

It was a silent and dreary march to these so called _showers. _Each and every one of them there knew they weren't showers though. Women cried and the men wore scowls or forlorn faces. The guards looked either pissed off or completely happy and smug that they were doing this to other _people._

A loud bang reverberated through the air. From the dark depths of the forest on the other side of the camp's surrounding fence, the sound of a vehicle could be heard zooming towards them.

The only thing Ichigo saw before he blacked out was a white, green, and purple blur.

* * *

**A/N: BWAHHAHAHAHAA! Cliffy! I'm just so wonderful aren't I! I disappear for months only to return with a shitty ass short chapters and a nasty cliffy!**

**Ichigo: WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU!**

**Rukia: YEAH! WHAT THE FUCK? Why did you kill Hisagi-san!**

**Hisagi: That's what I want to know ( -_-)**

**Me: W-well I just watched the new Breaking Dawn movie and it was really dark and quite honestly really creepy.**

**Rukia & Ichigo: THAT DOESN'T GIVE YOU AN EXCUSE! :[**

**Me: Sorry… O_O T_T**

**Well hopefully you don't hate me and you'll review! ~AF134**


	6. Chapter 5: Guilt

**Hi! I updated a bit faster than usual! I would have updated about 2 weeks ago except I caught (and still have) a horrible cough. I'm surprised I am even able to think with this wretched sickness. My ribs are actually **_**bruised**_** from coughing so much…**

**Anywho, hopefully I'll get into the habit of updating sooner. I seriously am sorry. My life just isn't the best right now. Thank you for reading my story! **

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own any Bleach characters mentioned in this story. I do in fact own the one-and-only adorable lil miss Yorokobi :D**

**Oh yeah, remember how in 1 of my previous disclaimers I talked about frogs, well they were my pet African Water frogs. Tiny little things. I loved them so much. Well the bigger one died…and the smaller frog…yeah… he ATE the snails we kept putting in his tank to clean. Considering the snails were about the same size as the frog…I was kind of concerned. Then one day I got back from school and my froggy was dead. He had choked on the current snail he was trying to eat! So I was super sad…still am.**

* * *

A month had passed.

One horribly long and hellish month.

Every day the amount of people in the camps would increase and then substantially decrease. A never ending cycle of arriving and death.

As more people came, the amount of food lessened. It was hard for anyone to survive – especially those who really had no point in living.

Rangiku for example. She had absolutely _nothing _left that kept her rooted to the earth. Her whole life – her Hisagi – was gone with the wind. She had grieved for _days _on end hoping for him to return to her in some sort of miracle.

Rukia was a different story. She _had _a reason to be rooted to reality; her beautiful four month old baby girl. Her mind was a mess. Rukia _knew _she had to stay in reality in order for her daughter to survive, but quite honestly, _she didn't want to. _Ichigo was gone. And he had been for about a month now. Every single day Rukia would wake up and look at her daughter and just let silent tears fall. Her promise to stop crying was long gone from her traumatized mind. Losing the love of your life doesn't exactly leave one in a state of joy.

Heartbroken, and starving, Rukia tried her best to stay alive in the Hell Camp.

* * *

"Ku-ro-saki-saaaaaan!" An annoying voice permeated said man's senses.

Ichigo opened his eyes - his _dead _eyes. He was a mess.

"What do you want?" He groaned out.

"It's time for more training!" The annoying man said in an over-joyous shout.

"I'm not in the mood today, Urahara-san…" Ichigo turned his head to look out the window of his current room.

Urahara frowned, but easily complied with the orange haired man's silent wish to be left alone. He walked out of the room with his hat drawn over his eyes.

For the past month Ichigo had been _very _busy. The first week was spent healing his horribly infected bullet wound. He was in bed for most of the week in an unconscious state. When he had awoken he had actually run outside in the direction he thought the Hell Camps were. Urahara and his helper Tessai had to go out and catch him before he got too far away. Once they had reached him, they explained how Urahara and his wife Yuroichi helped him escape from the camp.

* * *

***FLASHBACK***

"_We had been planning to invade the camp for weeks to see if we could save even just a small handful of people. To our luck you and the group of people being escorted on the outskirts of the camp were right where we could come in and save you! You just finished healing so once you feel comfortable in the next few days you can go with my friend Tessai to the shoreline to catch a boat to America and stay there until this war is ov-"_

"_There is _**no way in Hell**_that I am leaving both my wife and my daughter in that god-forsaken camp!"_

_Urahara had gawked at the young man's angry expression. Shortly his surprised expression turned into a smirk._

"_Well then Mr. Orange-head, would you like to join us in our next couple escapades to save people from the camps?"_

***END FLASHBACK***_  
_

* * *

From that day on Ichigo had been training and preparing to enter the camp to save Rukia and Yorokobi. Every day he wallowed in guilt thinking why he was the one that had to be saved and not Rukia and Yoro. The thought of saving his family urged him to train and get stronger, but it didn't get him to eat very much. Ichigo felt that if his wife and child were suffering from starvation that he should as well. It was the least he could do to ease some of the guilt off his shoulders.

Sadly, though, Ichigo wouldn't be able to invade the camp to save his family for at least another month. This thought alone made him nearly shout in sadness and anger.

* * *

Another week went by in the camp.

With too many people being put into the Hell Camp, the Nazis had started to build more barracks. The newer barracks were where the oldest prisoners were being held in order to keep them alive longer to do the menial tasks they were kept alive for. The Nazis no longer cared if men and women were together – as long as work was being done everything was fine.

Momo and Toushiro had been together for the longest. They chose to avoid other people when they spent time together; especially Rukia. Rukia had lost all emotion until she was caring for her baby. Then she would make a sad smile or just cry for her daughter and for herself.

Renji Abarai. No one had seen or heard from him in over three weeks. He could be dead, he could have been transferred to another camp, or he could have even escaped. It was as if he was never there in the first place. Not a single person from the group of friends that were at the wedding party even thought about him anymore. Such miniscule things such as losing Renji could not be compared to the loss of the most important person in your life.

Besides Momo and Toushiro, Rangiku was definitely better off. When the prisoners had been transferred to a different holding barracks, she had met a tall, and very sly, man. His eyes were squinted so tightly together that they seemed to be closed and his hair was a stunning starlight-silver. Even though he was in such a predicament he almost always had a smile in his face.

Rangiku had learned that his name was Gin, Gin Ichimaru. She had immediately trusted the foxlike man with her life. She had no idea as to why she did this, but she did. And for some reason, Gin had absolutely no problem with Rangiku being by his side almost 24/7. They both seemed to enjoy each other's company as if they had been friends since childhood.

* * *

"Rukia?" Rangiku called gently to the short woman breast-feeding her baby. It was the middle of the night and Rangiku had suddenly woken when she heard the faint sounds of a crying baby.

"Yes, Rangiku?" She replied without the slightest hint of emotion. Rangiku frowned.

"I… I just…" Rangiku sighed. "Rukia, I'm worried about you, and I'm not the only one. Momo, Toushiro, even Gin who barely knows you is worried about you. You barely eat and your body isn't getting enough nutrients. What's worse is that you're still breast-feeding Yoro. Rukia, you're slowly killing yourself. You need to get better, for Yorokobi's sake; for Ichigo's wish."

At the mention of her husband's name, Rukia's face scrunched up. She grimaced and shut her eyes tightly. A sob escaped her clenched lips. The now satisfied and sleeping Yorokobi was clutched tightly in her arms as she sobbed.

Rangiku sat down next to her friend.

"I miss him, Ran; I miss him so much it hurts!" She sobbed into her friend's arms. Rangiku hugged Rukia closely.

"I loved him, no, I still love him! I can't bear going through life knowing that he sacrificed himself in my place! It's my fault he's gone! It's all my fault that Yorokobi will grow up without a father! It's all my fault!" Rukia let out all of her pent up emotions.

"Oh, Rukia." Rangiku's hold on her smaller companion tightened. "Everything will be okay. It was **not **your fault! It's the damned Nazis fault. They did this – to you; to everyone! They're to blame; not you!"

"B-but Ran, the guard threatened to kill me if Ichigo didn't comply! He could've run with Yoro and lived! But he sacrificed himself and that's why it's _my _fault!" Rukia sobbed harder. Rangiku stayed silent to allow her dear friend to let everything out.

'_Why couldn't have been me?'_

* * *

Ichigo slid to his right and raised his sword in defense. Urahara's blade crashed down not a second later. A quick turn and a jump back let Ichigo escape Urahara's next attack.

"Oi! Why do we have to train with swords? Those bastards have guns! The hell can swords do against them?" Ichigo shouted aiming a downward slash at his trainer.

"You doubt the sword, Strawberry-san!" Urahara replied with glee.

"Shut it, Geta-boshi! Can't you take me seriously for once?"

"Can't you not complain for once, Chigo-kun?"

"Urgh! How the hell can I not?" Ichigo was pissed. He moved so quickly Urahara couldn't follow him with his eyes and gaped as Ichigo's long black katana was mere centimeters away from his neck.

"I'm done training for today." Ichigo slowly retreated to his designated room with his shoulders slouched.

Urahara smirked. "Ichigo, you have no idea how ready you are to go in and save the day, do you?"

* * *

Mattress springs squeaked in protest once the weight of Ichigo's body was placed upon it. An arm went over his eyes as they scrunched up a sudden lump forming in his throat. He clenched his teeth together and felt his eyes begin to water under closed lids.

'_Rukia… Yoro… I miss you both so damned much! You sure as __**hell **__better be okay. If you're not – so help me God I will kill everyone who even _looked _at you wrong!'_

This kind of small breakdown happened sometimes. It's not easy coping with a life such as this, but he had to bear with it – just for a bit longer. For Rukia's sake. No; for his family's sake! Including himself! He needed to endure this guilt for happiness to be reclaimed!

A black abyss greeted Ichigo in his sleep. A blissful sleep compared to his usual nightmares. A small escape from the fucked up place known as his life.

* * *

**A/N: It's short :'( It IS longer than last chapter but I'm still happy with its length... LHR is so much easier to write...**

**Am I the only one who has a problem with how shitty this chapter is? I am so sorry! I made you wait so long (well shorter than usual but still LONG) for this!**

**I worked my lazy-sick-ass off to get this done! I even put off studying for my midterm exams to get this updated! Which I may regret later…Anywho**

**To **rocket to your heart**: Thank you so much!** **It's really nice to know that you like my story! It's not really supposed to be scary though, but I can see how you get that feeling! I hope I didn't leave you hanging too much. I also hope this wasn't a let-down. Thank you so much (again) for the review! Also thank you so pancake-flipping much for adding this to your Favorites and Story alerts!**

**To **Eradona**: How did you know? xD Nice guess! You hit the nail right on the head! Thanks for the review! **

**Also a big thanks to those who Favorited or are Following this Fanfic:**

**~ Dark Goth 18**

**~ aliceistiny**

**~ Ryoshiro**

**~ ChocolateKitty08**

**~ Red6**

**~ kimmie-pooh**

**I love all my readers so very much and I try my best to make you all happy! I have actually planned out a plot line I wish to follow and I am sad to say that there is a 50/50 chance that this story will have a sad ending. I was discussing with my dear friend Alex about events going on in my story and he suggested that this story would be even better with a sad ending. He's usually good at predicting these sort of things and he actually helps me to write sometimes. Well not actually write up a chapter but he gives me ideas. He's awesome **

**Hopefully you're still enjoying my story! Remember! Story Alerts, Favoriting, and Reviews are **_**always **_**welcome! Luff chuu, my little Gummy Bears of Doom! ~AF134**


	7. Chapter 6: Time

**My god… I updated again. O_O**

**I took so frieking long! I am so sorry. Writer's block, school, and just my life got in the way.**

**If you're reading my other story **_Living Hell Redemption _**you should probably know that I've lost a big chunk of my inspiration for these stories. My Bleach OTP switched from IchiRuki to UlquiHime. I just suddenly realized during the Fullbring arc that Ichigo is just really annoying. (IchiRuki is now my 4****th**** fave Bleach ship…)**

**I would like to thank the following (awesome) people for reviewing, faving, and/or following this story:**

~ SimpleTad001

~ Anokoku

~ Ninja Chick 711

~ Abigail15

**Gah…. I've lost a lot of people haven't I? Well enough of my lame-assed rambling and get on with this long-awaited chapter….for about 5 people in this world….yay… .**

**Oh and if you haven't noticed, this story isn't really based on a bunch of facts and such. I'm going to change things to my liking like Aizen being the dictator and different uniforms. Also, I'm not very sure if they even had bras back then. So please, bear with me.**

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own any Bleach characters mentioned in this fic. Obviously I own Yorokobi. I also don't own anything else mentioned in this fic if anything ever IS mentioned.**

A scream permeated the silence of the stuffy air. A horrible, shrill shriek like nails on a chalkboard.

Rukia bolted up and smacked her pallid forehead on the shelf above her own. She groaned painfully and gripped Yorokobi in one arm and placed her other hand over her throbbing forehead. Still a bit disoriented, Rukia walked slowly over to the nearest, open door.

It was freezing out, but Rukia had been so out of it for the past three months she didn't even notice. She also failed to notice the fact that she was the only one awoken by the screech.

'_Everyone is probably already used to screaming by now.' _She thought bitterly.

Through the darkness outside, Rukia could make out four rigid-standing men, another form standing defensively, and a mound on the floor. The four rigid men were most likely the guards that were _supposed _to be guarding Rukia's barracks. If she listened closely, Rukia could hear them quite clearly.

"Come on, man. We only wanted a little fun."

"Yeah. An' a pretty lady like her was jus' perfect." Rukia was taken aback. _'Pigs, they're all disgusting pigs.'_

"This woman is not your… _play thing._ She is _mine_." An eerily monotone voice retorted. If Rukia had been closer she would have noted the anger in his voice.

"Oh ho ho! So the scrawny prick's got balls, eh? _Be careful, this guy's scary!_" The men guffawed at this sarcastic remark.

"How'd a lil' twerp like you end up with a chick with tits like tha- OOOF!" A solid fist to the gut from the man in defense silenced the guard. The guard collapsed as the others stopped their laughing. Rukia gaped. '_Such a small guy was able to take out a guard in a single hit?'_

"Oh you're gonna regret that." The guard lunged at the man who seemed to easily dodge his attacker and then roundhouse kick another guard right in the face. The guard the man dodged was aiming a punch directly at the man. What happened next was so surprising Rukia had to make sure she wasn't delusional.

Large fist barreling forward, the guard let out a frustrated grunt. The man who was at least 100 pounds lighter than the guard simply raised one of his hands.

And stopped the flying fist.

The man didn't falter, step back, or show any indication of even moving besides raising his other arm. He then proceeded to flip the man over his shoulder and onto the ground. As this man was thrown to the ground, the light on the fence flickered on. Rukia gasped. The man was wearing a strange white uniform with black edging.

"I told you this woman was mine. Führer Aizen has ordered me and this woman to come watch over this camp. Your misconduct has angered me and I shall have to report you immediately." The man turned his head to look directly at Rukia.

"You there, please take care of her while I deal with this trash." Needless to say Rukia was horribly startled. How the hell had he known she was there? It was pitch black where she was standing.

The man pulled out a – was that a katana? – And pointed it at the one standing guard. "Come with me. Bring the others." He turned around and crouched down next to the mound on the ground which was now easily seen as a woman. From what Rukia could see, his stoic face seemed to relax and his eyes softened. He was still emotionless but the edge was taken from him. This woman was definitely important to this man. Rukia couldn't make out what he was saying as he helped the woman sit up. He stood and immediately hardened his gaze at the guards. "Come. We are leaving." With that, they were gone.

Rukia rushed over to the woman on the ground. "A-are you okay?" She was bewildered. That man was something else.

"Well, I think so." The woman said, giggling. This woman had long auburn hair, a uniform similar in design to the stoic man's, and a very easily noted, large chest.

"I'm Orihime Inoue." Orihime smiled brightly and then flinched. "Owww…" Her smile had reopened a small knife cut on her cheek. On closer inspection, her entire cheek was red and a bit puffy; her clothes were ruffled and scuffed up; and her palms were scraped and bloody most likely from falling onto the ground.

"Oh, I'm Rukia. Th-that man instructed me to take care of you while he was gone. So uhm please come with me."

"Okay!" Orihime smiled and giggled again. "It's kind of funny really. I'm a very skilled and high ranked healer in Fuhrer Aizen's forces. So, for you to take care of a medic is just silly." She full on laughed at her own statement.

Rukia felt uncomfortable around this woman. What an odd pair that man and Orihime seemed to make. Honestly, how could this woman smile in this hellish camp? She seemed like the naïve type so Rukia just assumed she didn't really know. Probably had been brainwashed like most of the country.

Rukia escorted Orihime to the water pump a few barracks down from her own.

"I-I know you're injured, but could you please hold my baby while I treat you?" Rukia spoke timidly, a bit fearful to hand her baby over to someone other than herself or Rangiku.

"Oh, of course!" She took Yoro into her arms while Rukia found the cleanest cloth left near the pump. "Oh my goodness! She's so cute! And her hair! Such a unique color. I bet that's from her father." Rukia froze where she was standing. A sudden throb in her heart making her whimper. But she held back her tears. Orihime continued to ramble on. "I bet her eyes are just as pretty as yours, right? Ooo, oh! I bet she's so sweet when she's awake."

"Ah, I don't mean to be rude, but could you possibly keep it down? I'm not very sure if I should be here. The guards will get angry, and I don't really want to get in trouble again."

"Oh, Okay. Really, you don't need to worry. I'll just tell them that Ulquiorra told you to come over here and help me." She smiled once again, blissfully unaware of the horrors occurring in this camp. Rukia frowned and then sighed. Ulquiorra must be that strange man, she thought.

"I don't mean to pry, but what do you mean by that? Is Ulq-Ulquin-Ulquio…Is that man important?" She struggled to say the strange name.

"Oh, well I think he was sent here by Fuhrer Aizen to watch over this camp. He doesn't tell me much, but Ulqui-kun told me that I_ 'Should stay in close to me at all times to avoid any unnecessary problems. There has been strange activity here._' "Orihime depended her voice in a cute, but weak, attempt at imitating Ulquiorra. "He's so mysterious." Her eyes sparkled in – admiration? – of Ulquiorra.

A few minutes later, Rukia had the cloth as clean as possible and was ready to clean up Orihime. "Okay, I can clean your wounds now. It might sting a bit." Orihime held out one hand, winced as it was cleaned, and then took Yorokobi into that hand while the other was cleaned. Next, her faced was wiped clean. She made a strange pucker with her lips and her eyes were concentrated heavily on her nose. Rukia managed a small smile. This woman, Orihime, was nothing more than a mere child compared to Rukia, even though they appeared the same age.

"Eh, Rukia, you're pretty when you smile."

Rukia sighed sadly, still smiling a bit. "Ichigo used to say that too."

"Huh, Ichigo… Is that your husband? And …uhm… her father?"

"Yeah, he's Yoro's father and my husband. Well, at least he was until a few months ago. This damned camp ruined that."

"Oh-oh my. I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean…"

"No, no it's not your fault. Well unless you helped organize this place." She grimaced.

"W-well, from what I know, this place is supposed to be a nice resettlement for foreigners and Jewish people. Uhm… It's supposed to very nice and the people should be taken care of very well. Although, this is my first time seeing an actual camp and it's different from the videos. And, well, after you just told me about your husband, I'm almost sure that this place is completely different."

"It is. I've seen a video or two at my brother's estate. Now, anywhere else that hurts?"

Orihime blushed a bit. "Well… uhm… I'm not sure if you know my entire predicament… and well Ulquiorra saved me from those men. You know he gets jealous very easily. It's hard to tell for most people. Despite his emotionless appearance he's got a really kind heart. That's why I love him so much. Such a rare personality! Reminds me of the first time we met we," Orihime was cut off in her rambling.

"Orihime!" Rukia violently whispered. "Where else are you hurt?"

Again, she blushed. "Teehee." She giggled nervously, and then pointed to her chest. "As I said, Ulquiorra gets jealous and those men weren't exactly…"

Rukia's eyes widened. "Okay… I'm going to have to ask you to remove your shirt so I can see the damage." Orihime handed Yoro back to Rukia. She pulled her shirt off over her head. Rukia was a bit curious how she managed that since it looked pretty tight, but just tossed the thought aside. She gasped.

"My god, that looks terrible." From what Rukia could see of the skin not covered by her bra, blue and purple splotches were beginning to form all over Orihime's breasts.

"Honestly, it doesn't really hurt unless you touch them."

"Well, I _guess_ that's okay. I'm sorry, but I can't really do anything to treat bruises."

"There's no need to apologize! I should be thanking you for tending to me." She smiled warmly, eliciting a gentle smile from Rukia.

"It was really no problem." Orihime slipped her shirt back over her head.

Silence enveloped the two. It was such a peaceful night despite the freezing air nipping at their skin. Rukia couldn't remember the last time she was at such peace – well at least none that omitted a painful throb in her heart.

"Onna," A gentle yet deep voice pronounced. Orihime jumped, startled by the sudden appearance of the voice.

Rukia was a bit confused. _'Onna? I thought her name was Orihime…'_

"Ulquiorra!" She stood up quickly. A sudden dizziness overwhelmed her and she nearly lost her balance. "Woah, Guess I'm a bit light-headed." She giggled. "Oh! Ulquiorra! This is Rukia she was the one that helped me. She's so very nice. I really hope that I can see her again!"

Ulquiorra turned his head slowly to look at the woman Orihime was talking about. This in turn, caused Rukia to look at Ulquiorra.

She took in his tall, slender frame; the strange black edged white outfit; his jet black, messy hair; his extremely pallid complexion; the strange green, tear like marks; and lastly, his eyes. They were a striking emerald green – so green in fact, that the vibrancy rivaled with the sunset color of Orihime's hair.

Instead of speaking, Ulquiorra just sent a piercing stare towards Rukia's face. Rukia decided to break the tense atmosphere.

"I-I took care of her the best I could, given my… conditions." Rukia spoke timidly. She tried to avoid the strange man's gaze.

"Yes, you did. I am grateful for your actions." He nodded slightly to show his appreciation. Emerald irises drifted to where Orihime stood beside Rukia. Immediately his icy demeanor melted, revealing the almost relaxed face of a normal man –_ **almost**_.

"Onna, we are leaving. We shall go to our room in the soldiers' barracks. I rather not sleep near those trash after what they've done, but it's much more acceptable as compared to these living conditions." He slightly motioned towards the barracks where the prisoners resided. Rukia frowned.

Orihime bristled at Ulquiorra's rudeness. "Ulquiorra!" she walked over and lightly slapped him on the arm, "Don't be so rude! I know it's unlike you to show respect to anyone that isn't your superior, but there's no need to say such things. Rukia is right there, and she's been nothing but nice. Couldn't you at least try to hold back from saying comments like that?" There was a stark silence after Orihime's a bit over-the-top outburst.

Ulquiorra openly gaped at Orihime. Slowly, he returned to his initial emotionless, yet caring gaze that he only used when looking at Orihime.

"It seems that you have come to care for this woman." He paused. "I shall try to refrain to state unnecessary comments." With that he closed his eyes and shut his mouth as if to physically state that he was done taking part in this conversation.

Orihime turned to Rukia. "I have to go now Rukia. I'm really sorry about Ulquiorra…and my outburst." She blushed.

"It's okay Orihime. He didn't really offend me. There's no need to apologize for anything." Rukia shifted Yoro in her arms.

"Oh thank goodness!" Orihime clapped her hands in front of her once, happily. Suddenly she lunged forward and hugged Rukia – making sure to leave enough space so as not to crush Yorokobi.

"Goodbye Rukia!" She let go and bent to look at Yoro. "Bye-bye Yoro!"

She stood straight and ran over to Ulquiorra, who now had his eyes open peering curiously at the bundle in Rukia's arms that was Yorokobi. Rukia pulled Yoro a bit closer to herself, as she was discomforted by his stare.

Ulquiorra turned around and began walking away with Orihime closely at his side.

"Ulqui-kun, did you see Rukia's baby? Isn't she just adorable! I would give anything to have a baby as cute as that. Well, I'd give anything just to have a baby." Ulquiorra stood ramrod straight – seemingly nervous at the woman's simple ramblings.

As they continued to walk away she smiled ever so slightly. Even though they were strange – and Ulquiorra a bit scary and rude – they made a nice couple.

_'I guess even the enemies have people they love too.'_ She thought as she saw Ulquiorra wrap his arm around Orihime's waist.

Rukia sighed and trudged back to her own ramshackle barracks to try and get some more sleep. Although, looking at the sky beginning to brighten with the beginning rays of sunlight, she highly doubted she'd get much.

* * *

Ichigo. Was. _**Pissed**._

"URAHARA! God dammit, get your ass back over here! You said _last month_ that we would ambush that camp in three days' time. It's been about four bloody weeks, why the _**hell **_haven't we left yet?"

Ichigo and Yuroichi, Urahara's "partner in crime", had been training Ichigo for the past month while Urahara had been who-knows-where doing who-knows-what. They were both down in the large training room that resembled a large open area of orange boulders and a shitload of dust, when Urahara suddenly appeared. He had literally jumped right into Ichigo's _hakudo_ training – which was basically hand to hand combat. Urahara – Kisuke to Yuroichi – then proceeded to punch Ichigo in the gut and then run away giggling like a little school girl.

"I swear to god I'm gonna kill him someday." He turned to Yuroichi. "How the hell do you put up with him?"

She laughed. "Well, it wasn't easy at first…_but_ Kisuke's really quite nice once you get used to his antics." She turned to head back upstairs, waving her hand as she walked away. "You're done for the day."

Ichigo sighed. He had been training for about five months now. Over that time, Urahara had been somehow managing to get small groups of men, women, and children out. Many of the men had either been sickly and dying or they were like Ichigo – they wanted to fight. In that group of fighters there were: Ichigo, a large man named Chad, a scrawny glasses-wearing with deep black-blue hair named Ishida, a silver-haired Kensei, a blonde with a creepy smile going by Shinji, and Urahara had somehow managed to find Renji. Apparently Renji had been in the process of being transferred to a different camp when Urahara had ambushed the trucks.

A few women had even stayed to help out in any way they could. Tatsuki Arisawa was in the transferring ambush along with Renji. Over the past few weeks they had gotten to know each other and train together. Urahara and Yuroichi believed Tatsuki was more than prepared to aid in an attack on the camps.

Mashiro Kuna was a petite, green-haired, oddly-dressed, odd little woman. She was Kensei's… well no one knew what they were. They were always just hanging around each other and yelling. She acted a bit like a child and _refused_ to call anyone by their real names – except for Kensei, that is. Despite her… unique behavior and overall appearance, she was a very skilled fighter and was immediately allowed to join "the team".

Another member of this ragtag group was Hiyori Sarugaki. She's tiny, blonde, and irritable. Hiyori was somehow involved with Shinji – always calling him 'baldy' and hitting him with her sandals. She seriously hated how 'pathetic' Ichigo looked all the time. Her permanent nickname for him was 'Dumbass' and in return Ichigo called her 'Snaggle-tooth' due to her protruding canine.

Though there were few from the concentration camps willing to fight, Urahara had several connections. In the past few months many expertly skilled men and women had arrived: Shunsui Kyoraku, Nanao Ise, Jushiro Ukitake, Retsu Unohana, Isane Kotetsu, Soi Feng, and Neliel Tu Odelschwank. By now Ichigo thought that Urahara would have at least sent him on a few reconnaissance missions or even a few small attacks on trucks or small groups, but no. Ichigo had been training nonstop every single day and he was _sick_ of it. He was _sick_ of sitting there, doing nothing. He was _sick_ of knowing that he could be doing something to help. He was _so sick_ of knowing that his wife was still stuck it that damnable camp thinking that he was dead. He was _so fucking sick_ of knowing that his family was suffering while he sat here; under a sturdy, clean roof; eating more than enough food. How the _hell_ has he lasted so long through this unimaginable amount of guilt? _**How?**_

Ichigo made his way to current room which he now shared with Renji. When he opened the door, he found it empty – as he had hoped. He sat down on the bed like he had done every day and just remembered all the good memories he'd ever had. He sat there hoping that **this **would come to an end. All Ichigo wanted was to go back to the happy life he'd had before – one with Rukia and his beautiful daughter Yorokobi.

A knock broke Ichigo out of his reverie.

"Kurosaki-_saaaan_!" an annoyingly peppy voice permeated the silence.

"What the hell could you want _now_, Urahara?" Ichigo groaned.

Urahara opened the door only enough to pop his head in. "Aww! No need to be so mopey!" Urahara's joking façade immediately became serious. "Ichigo," his voice lowered, "we will be departing tomorrow morning."

Ichigo hesitated. "What for?"

Urahara lifted a fan up out of nowhere; shielding the bottom of his face. His eyes glinted with an indiscernible amount of mischievousness.

"To take over the camp, of course!" And with that he disappeared, laughing madly as he went.

* * *

**A/N: Wow! Longest. Chapter. ****Ever.**** This just took me so long to write. **

**I can't apologize enough times for my fucking slow updates. It's just so hard to come up with the ideas to write this.**

**How did ya like it? I might not update for another long while, but when I do it'll be INVASION TIME! Mwahahahha! That'll be a great chapter **** Actually…I think there might only be 3 or 4 more chapters. That's just a rough estimate but that's probably what's going to happen.**

**Once again I am terribly sorry for my inability to update faster. I hope this chapter made up for it!**

**I alternate updates with this story and **LHR **so look out for that one in the next…month or two. Yeah I know…I suck at updating. That story, actually, will have over 20 chapters hopefully. The story could go that long. **

**Anywho…**

**Thank you for reading! Reviews, faves, and follows are appreciated – hate is not. If ya don't like the story or are offended – I'm sorry – and just don't ****bloody read it.**

AnimeFreak134


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